U.S. patent number 6,698,660 [Application Number 09/885,530] was granted by the patent office on 2004-03-02 for electronic recording and communication of information.
This patent grant is currently assigned to ANOTO AB. Invention is credited to Christer F.ang.hraeus, Marianne Lindstrom, Linus Wiebe.
United States Patent |
6,698,660 |
F.ang.hraeus , et
al. |
March 2, 2004 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Electronic recording and communication of information
Abstract
In a method of recording and managing information, information
is written on a product using a handheld writing device, the
handwritten information being recorded electronically and at least
partly communicated in a communication network. Moreover, the user
writes by means of the writing device a command which is recorded
electronically and which qualifies the managing of the
electronically recorded information in the communication network. A
system for information management, a server unit in such a system,
a computer program for information management and a product are
also described.
Inventors: |
F.ang.hraeus; Christer (Lund,
SE), Wiebe; Linus (Lund, SE), Lindstrom;
Marianne (Stockholm, SE) |
Assignee: |
ANOTO AB (Lund,
SE)
|
Family
ID: |
27354590 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/885,530 |
Filed: |
June 21, 2001 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
235/472.01;
345/179 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/04886 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/033 (20060101); G06K 007/10 (); G09G
005/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;235/375,380,462.15,462.49,472.03,472.01 ;345/179 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
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5483052 |
January 1996 |
Smith, III et al. |
5652412 |
July 1997 |
Lazzouni et al. |
5932863 |
August 1999 |
Rathus et al. |
6050490 |
April 2000 |
Leichner et al. |
|
Foreign Patent Documents
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4436700 |
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Feb 1996 |
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DE |
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0615209 |
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Sep 1994 |
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EP |
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2268442 |
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Jan 1994 |
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GB |
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99/46909 |
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Sep 1999 |
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WO |
|
99/50787 |
|
Oct 1999 |
|
WO |
|
00/72244 |
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Nov 2000 |
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WO |
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WO 01/16691 |
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Mar 2001 |
|
WO |
|
WO 01 26032 |
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Apr 2001 |
|
WO |
|
WO 01/26033 |
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Apr 2001 |
|
WO |
|
01/48590 |
|
Jul 2001 |
|
WO |
|
WO 01/48591 |
|
Jul 2001 |
|
WO |
|
WO 01/48678 |
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Jul 2001 |
|
WO |
|
WO 01/48685 |
|
Jul 2001 |
|
WO |
|
01/61449 |
|
Aug 2001 |
|
WO |
|
Primary Examiner: Le; Thien M.
Assistant Examiner: Nowlin; April
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Birch, Stewart, Kolasch &
Birch, LLP
Parent Case Text
This application claims the benefit of No. 60/261,922 filed Jan.
16, 2001.
Claims
What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:
1. A method of recording and managing information, comprising the
steps of: writing said information on a product that is dedicated
to at least one predefined service, using a handheld writing
device, said service being defined by a set of predetermined
processing instructions to be executed on said information by a
receiving station; recording said information electronically;
writing on the product, using the writing device, a refining
command; recording the refining command electronically; and
communicating a data quantity to the receiving station, said data
quantity representing at least part of said information and the
refining command, wherein the refining command is interpreted to
further qualify the predefined service by modifying said set of
processing instructions in the receiving station.
2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said information and the
refining command are recorded electronically by the writing
device.
3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of writing the
refining command includes writing a symbol that signals the
existence of the refining command.
4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of writing
refining command includes writing a string of characters, to define
the refining command.
5. A method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the refining command is
written as a sequence of command words, and wherein each subsequent
command word in said sequence qualifies a preceding command
word.
6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of recording
said information electronically includes detecting a position code
on the product and converting said position code to one or more
sequences of positions by means of the writing device.
7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refining command
initiates formatting of at least part of said information.
8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refining command
initiates a translation of at least part of said information.
9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refining command
initiates a character interpretation of at least part of said
information.
10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of recording
the refining command electronically includes detecting a position
code on the product and converting said position code to one or
more sequences of positions by means of the writing device.
11. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refining command
initiates an information object to be associated with at least part
of said information.
12. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the refining command
identifies a payment service.
13. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the step of recording
the refining command electronically includes detecting a position
code on the product and converting said position code to one or
more sequences of positions by means of the writing device.
14. A method as claimed in claim 6 or 13, wherein said at least one
service is identified based on the position code on the
product.
15. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the refining command
is written in a position-coded field which is dedicated to
character interpretation of information noted therein.
16. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the refining command
is written in a position-coded field which is dedicated to
commands.
17. A system for information management, comprising: a product that
is dedicated to at least one predefined service; and a writing
device which electronically records handwritten information on the
product and communicates at least part thereof to a receiving
station which executes a set of predetermined processing
instructions on the handwritten information, wherein the product
has a field which enables electronic recording of a refining
command by means of said writing device, said system interpreting
said refining command to further which qualify said at least one
service by modifying said set of processing instructions in the
receiving station.
18. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the writing device is
designed for simultaneous writing and electronic recording of the
refining command.
19. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the product is
provided with a position code which codes at least one position,
and wherein the writing device is designed to record the
handwritten information by detection of said position code.
20. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said field is provided
with a position code which codes at least one position, and wherein
the writing device is designed to record the refining command by
detection of said position code.
21. A system as claimed in claims 17, wherein said field is
dedicated to character interpretation of information noted
therein.
22. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein said field is
dedicated to commands.
23. A system as claimed in claim 17, wherein the receiving station
interprets and executes the refining command.
24. A system as claimed in claim 23, wherein the product is
provided with a position code which codes at least one position,
wherein the writing device is designed to record the handwritten
information by detection of said position code, and wherein the
receiving station identifies said at least one service based at
least one position in the handwritten information.
25. A system as claimed in claim 17, which identifies the existence
of a refining command on the basis of a symbol included
therein.
26. A system as claimed in claim 17, which identifies the meaning
of a refining command on the basis of a character string included
therein.
27. A computer unit which is adapted to be included in a system for
managing electronic information, which computer unit is adapted to:
receive a plurality of position indications, identify among said
position indications an information quantity which represents
handwritten information, identify, based on at least one of said
position indications, a predetermined set of processing
instructions to be executed on said information quantity, scan said
position indications for identification of a refining command, and,
when identifying said the refining command, modify said set of
processing instructions on the basis of the refining command.
28. A computer unit as claimed in claim 27, which is designed to
search, during said scanning, for given positions among said
position indications.
29. A computer unit as claimed in claim 27, which is designed to
search, during said scanning, for a predetermined symbol.
30. A computer unit as claimed in claim 27, which is designed to
identify, during said scanning, a character string, and to form the
refining command from said character string.
31. A computer program for information management, which is stored
on a computer-readable memory medium and which comprises
instructions for causing a computer to: receive a plurality of
position indications, identify among said position indications an
information quantity which represents handwritten information,
identify, based on at least one of said position indications, a
predetermined set of processing instructions to be executed on said
information quantity, scan said position indications for
identification of a refining command, and when identifying the
refining command, modify said set of processing instructions on the
basis of the refining command.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to electronic recording and
communication of information.
BACKGROUND ART
A large number of handheld appliances for inputting of information
into computers, PDAs, mobile phones and the like have been
developed. Examples of such appliances are reading pens for
inputting of text and electronic writing/pointing devices for
electronic recording of handwritten information by position
determination. There are a great variety of techniques for
accomplishing position determination in electronic writing devices,
such as via accelerometers, gyros or mechanical movement detectors
integrated into the writing device, via triangulation of signals
from transceivers which are arranged in the surroundings of the
writing device and intended for laser light, sound waves, radio
waves or IR radiation, via interaction with pressure-sensitive
writing tablets/displays, via interaction with an electromagnetic
field generated by a writing base, etc.
Patent Publication WO 01/16691, which is assigned to the Applicant
and which is hereby incorporated by reference, discloses a
technique for increasing the functionality of electronic writing
devices in addition to pure inputting of information into a
computer or the like. To this end, a position code is used, which
codes a plurality of positions in a writing field of a product,
along with a writing device which is designed to detect the
position code, in order to electronically record information which
is noted down in the writing field. The product also has at least
one activation icon which, when detected by the writing device,
causes the writing device to initiate a predetermined operation
while using the recorded information. More specifically, the
position-coded product has a built-in functionality, in that
different positions on the product, such as positions in the
activation icon and positions in the writing field, are dedicated
to different functions. The position code is also capable of coding
absolute coordinates for a large number of positions, much larger
than the number of necessary positions on the product. Thus, the
position code can be considered to make up a virtual surface which
is defined by all positions which the position code is capable of
coding, different positions on the virtual surface being dedicated
to different functions and/or operators.
The combination of writing device and position-coded product can,
like in the prior-art techniques stated above, be used as an
inputting device for a computer, a PDA, a mobile phone etc. For
instance, handwritten text and sketches noted down on a notebook
page can be transferred via the writing device to a computer. The
combination of writing device and position-coded product, can,
however, also be used for e-commerce, if the writing device
communicates with a communication network, such as the Internet, a
telephone network, etc. For instance, the writing device can be
used to order a product or service from a position-coded
advertisement in a magazine, by the positions in the advertisement
being dedicated to such a functionality. Correspondingly, global
communication is made possible, direct from an appropriately
position-coded product via the writing device. The information
recorded by the writing device can, for instance, be converted into
a fax message, an e-mail message or an SMS, and then be sent from
the writing device to a recipient via the communication
network.
In the above cases, the user has a product, for instance a notebook
or a scratch pad, which is provided with preprinted graphics and a
position code, typically a position-coded writing field for
inputting of graphical information, a position-coded address field
for inputting of address information, a position-coded subject
field for inputting of a heading, and position-coded multiple
choice fields for choosing the communication method (fax, e-mail,
SMS).
As this type of product is being established on the market, new
services will be developed, and existing services will be refined,
for instance by different options being added for the management of
the recorded information. This means that also new products must be
printed, which are adapted to the developed or refined services.
This in turn places great demands on manufacture and distribution
of products, in order to ensure that the latest version of the
product is available on the market. Moreover, the rejection of old
versions of a product can be considerable, with the ensuing costs.
It may also be difficult for the user, and associated with costs,
always to have access to the latest version of a certain
product.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention thus is to provide a method
which overcomes the above problems.
These and other objects that will be evident from the following
description are now achieved wholly or partly by a method according
to claim 1, a system according to claim 17, a computer unit
according to claim 27, and a computer program according claim 31.
Preferred embodiments are defined in the appended claims.
Thus, the invention enables inputting of a command which qualifies
the management of the electronically recorded information in the
communication network. The command can be seen as a refining
command. The user may use existing products which are dedicated to
a certain service, but still have access to further developments of
this service. Thus the user will have quick access to further
developed services, in practice as soon as they are introduced in
the communication network. The service provider has the advantage
of being capable of further developing his services and still
retain the products distributed on the market. It will also be
possible to test the market's receptivity to a further development
without costs for manufacturing and distributing new products, for
instance position-coded sheets of paper with a new graphic layout.
The invention also allows the user to use generic products and
control the choice of service by entering a desired command.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described by way of example with
reference to the accompanying drawings, which schematically
illustrate currently preferred embodiments and in which
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system in which the invention can
be accomplished,
FIG. 2 illustrates steps that can be carried out in a method of
communicating information according to an embodiment of the
invention,
FIGS. 3a-3c show three different embodiments of the product for use
in communication of information according to the method in FIG. 2,
and
FIG. 4 illustrates method steps that can be carried out in the
system in FIG. 1 when information is communicated therein.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a system in which the invention can be accomplished.
The system, and alternatives thereto, is described in Applicant's
International Patent Applications PCT/SE00/02640, PCT/SE00/02641
and PCT/SE00/02659 which are incorporated herein by reference. The
system in FIG. 1 comprises a plurality of writing devices or
digital pens DP, a plurality of products P with a position code PC,
a look-up unit PLS and at least one service-providing unit SH.
The digital pens DP are designed to record the position code PC
locally on the product P and convert the recorded position code PC
into a position of the pen DP on the product P. At the same time as
the user writes with the pen DP on the product P, an electronic
recording of a corresponding sequence of positions thus takes
place. The position code PC and the digital pen DP are described in
detail in Applicant's Patent Publications WO 01/26032 and WO
01/26033 which are hereby incorporated by reference.
As mentioned by way of introduction, when discussing WO 01/16691,
use is made of a position code PC which is capable of coding
absolute coordinates for a very large number of positions, which
make up a virtual surface and which are dedicated to different
functions and/or operators. Only a subset of these positions is
coded on the product P.
The look-up unit PLS is a server unit having access to a database
DB which contains information about the virtual surface, for
instance a connection between different positions on the virtual
surface and addresses of different service-providing units SH.
The service-providing unit SH is a server unit which executes a
service, such as storing or forwarding digital information or
initiating transfer of a product or information, for instance in
the form of a fax, an e-mail message or an SMS, to a recipient.
A user connected to the system can by means of the writing device
DP note information on the position-coded product P and then mark
the activation icon AI. When the pen DP records the activation icon
AI, it is caused to send a message to the look-up unit PLS, which
message contains at least one position from the electronic
information that has been recorded on the product P. In the example
shown, wireless transmission is performed from the pen DP to a
network connecting unit M, such as a mobile phone, a computer or a
PDA, which communicates with the look-up unit PLS in a
communication network. Alternatively, the network connecting unit M
can be incorporated into the pen DP.
When the look-up unit PLS receives the message from the pen DP, a
look-up in the database DB is performed. Based on the position
contents of the message, the look-up unit PLS then instructs the
pen DP to communicate with a specific service-providing unit SH in
the communication network, for instance by returning a network
address (url) to the pen DP. Then the pen DP sends, via the network
connecting unit M, the electronically recorded information to the
appointed service-providing unit SH.
The service-providing unit SH is conveniently connected to a
database XDB which contains data regarding the functionality of
each position on the product P. The service-providing unit SH then
processes the received information in dependence on its position
contents.
The service-providing unit SH is administered by a service
provider, which can be a network operator which provides electronic
message services, a calendar producer which offers electronic
calendar handling, a data storing company which offers data storage
in the communication network, etc. Each service provider has, as a
rule, produced his own position-coded products P with predefined
graphic fields and an associated position code PC with the desired
functionality. According to the invention, however, the user can
qualify the management of the information in the communication
network in addition to the possibilities that are indicated on the
product P.
FIG. 2 illustrates steps which according to the invention can be
carried out by the user when communicating information in the
system in FIG. 1. These steps will be illustrated in more detail in
connection with the following description of three different
embodiments of the product included in the system, with reference
to FIGS. 3a-3c.
The product in FIG. 3a contains a writing field 100 for noting
graphic information, an address field 101 for entering a receiving
address, such as a telephone number, a fax number or an e-mail
address, a subject field 102 for entering a heading, a command
field 103 for entering a command, and an activation icon in the
form of a send box 104. The address field 101, the subject field
102 and the command field 103 code positions which are dedicated to
initiation of an OCR interpretation (Optical Character Recognition)
of the associated information. This OCR interpretation can take
place in the pen DP, in the look-up unit PLS or in the
service-providing unit SH.
The user can, by noting a command in the command field 103, refine
the management of the information noted on the product, generally
in the writing field 100. The command is suitably a sequence of
characters which in plain text identifies the corresponding
operation, for instance INTERPRET (causes an ICR interpretation
[Intelligent Character Recognition] of the information in the
writing field 100), TRANSLATE (causes an ICR interpretation and
translation of the information in the writing field 100), STORE
(causes the information in the writing field 100 to be saved in a
storage location), FORMAT (causes the information in the writing
field 100 to be formatted according to a given pattern), BACKGROUND
(causes the information in the writing field 100 to be presented
against a background image).
The user may add additional definitions to the main command name,
via a suitable separator, for instance "/",and thus build a
composite command, such as FORMAT/POWERPOINT, TRANSLATE/ENGLISH or
BACKGROUND/ALPS. Other composite commands can relate to indication
of a mode of payment for the service in question, such as PAY/VISA
(payment withdrawn from a predefined account),
PAY/VISA/1234123412341234 (payment withdrawn from the indicated
account number), PAY/TELE (cost invoiced by the operator
administering the management of the user's information in the
communication network).
By the command being recorded on a given part of the virtual
surface, it can be distinguished from the other information in the
message that is sent to the service-providing unit SH, which
translates the command into an operation that is executed on the
information recorded in the writing field 100, which information
can also be identified on the basis of its position contents.
The product in FIG. 3b has no dedicated command field. Instead the
system is designed to detect the existence of a command on the
basis of a given symbol, for instance {character pullout}, and the
subsequent or preceding character identifies the meaning of the
command. The symbol is suitably of a type that is easy to note,
easy to interpret and unique in the sense that it does not appear
in any written language.
The user can also note the command in the address field 101 or the
subject field 102, optionally beside an address and a heading,
respectively.
The product in FIG. 3c is quite general in the sense that it allows
access to many different services, based on commands that are
written in a dedicated command field 103 on the product P.
Thus the user can note information in the writing field 100 and
then write a composite command, which contains identification of
the selected service, and any supplementary information, such as
FAX/08-100100 (the information in the writing field 100 will be
sent to the indicated fax number), STORE/CALENDAR (the information
in the writing field 100 will be stored in a calendar application
of the service provider), or SMS/0733-100100/ATTACHMENT/ALPS (the
information in the writing field 100 will be sent as an SMS to the
indicated telephone number and presented with an information object
showing an alpine landscape).
FIG. 4 illustrates schematically steps that are carried out in the
system in FIG. 1 in the management of information, independently of
the design of the product P. A message is received by the
service-providing unit SH, which identifies a relevant information
quantity therein and also searches for a command in the message. If
a command is found, the information quantity is qualified
correspondingly. In the above example, the translation of the
command into an operation takes place in the service-providing unit
SH. However, it should be emphasized that this translation can
alternatively take place in the look-up unit PLS or even in the pen
DP, which either themselves execute the operation or forward a
corresponding instruction to the service-providing unit SH.
The identification of commands and the translation thereof into
operations are conveniently accomplished in the form of software
which is executed in a computer/server. The person skilled in the
art can, based on the above description, design such software. For
certain types of commands, the identification of commands, and
optionally also the translation thereof into operations, can
alternatively take place manually.
The administration of available commands takes place suitably
centrally, for instance in connection with the look-up unit PLS. As
is evident from FIG. 1, the system may comprise a portal P having
access to an interface IF to the database DB of the look-up unit
PLS, which database may contain a list of available commands. Thus
the user can inform himself about these, for instance via the
Internet. Alternatively, or besides, the portal P can have access
to an interface XIF to the database XDB of the service provider, if
the service provider administers the available commands.
It should be pointed out that the scope of the patent protection
solicited is not restricted by the above embodiments. The invention
may be varied and modified in several ways within the scope of the
appended claims.
For instance, the invention is not limited to use of an absolute
position code, or to a relative position code. The above discussion
can be transferred to an embodiment in which the digital
equivalence to a product is identified in an optional fashion, for
instance by entering/reading a product ID on the product, and
information is recorded electronically by means of a writing device
in the form of relative positions on the product. The position
determination in such a writing device can take place in an
optional fashion, for instance based on one of the techniques
stated by way of introduction.
It should also be pointed out that the existence of a command can
be identified by a command symbol also when the product has a
dedicated command field.
* * * * *